渥肯建材 (VMC) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good morning. Welcome, everyone, to the Vulcan Materials Company third-quarter 2024 earnings call. My name is Angela, and I will be your conference call coordinator today. Please be reminded that today's call is being recorded and will be available for replay later today at the company's website. (Operator Instructions)

早安.歡迎大家參加 Vulcan Materials Company 2024 年第三季財報電話會議。我叫安琪拉，今天我將擔任你們的電話會議協調員。請注意，今天的電話會議正在錄音，並將於今天晚些時候在公司網站上重播。（操作員說明）

Now I will turn the call over to your host, Mr. Mark Warren, Vice President of Investor Relations for Vulcan Materials. Mr. Warren, you may begin.

現在我將把電話轉給主持人，Vulcan Materials 投資者關係副總裁 Mark Warren 先生。沃倫先生，您可以開始了。

Thank you, operator. And good morning, everyone. With me today are Tom Hill, Chairman and CEO; and Mary Andrews Carlisle, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Today's call is accompanied by a press release and a supplemental presentation posted to our website, vulcanmaterials.com.

謝謝你，接線生。大家早安。今天與我在一起的有董事長兼執行長湯姆希爾 (Tom Hill)；和瑪麗·安德魯斯·卡萊爾，高級副總裁兼財務長。今天的電話會議也發布了一份新聞稿，並在我們的網站 vulcanmaterials.com 上發布了補充簡報。

Please be reminded that today's discussion may include forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks and uncertainties. These risks, along with other legal disclaimers, are deals in the company's earnings release and in other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

請注意，今天的討論可能包含前瞻性陳述，這些陳述存在風險和不確定性。這些風險以及其他法律免責聲明都包含在該公司的收益報告和向美國證券交易委員會提交的其他文件中。

Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures are defined and reconciled in our earnings release, our supplemental presentation, and other SEC filings. During the Q&A, we ask that you limit your participation to one question. This will allow us to accommodate as many as possible during our time we have available.

非 GAAP 財務指標的調節在我們的收益發布、補充簡報和其他 SEC 文件中進行了定義和調整。在問答過程中，我們要求您只參與一個問題。這將使我們能夠在可用時間內容納盡可能多的人。

And with that, I'll turn the call over to Tom.

然後，我會將電話轉給湯姆。

Thank you, Mark, and I thank all of you for joining our call this morning. We continue to execute on our two-pronged strategy to deliver attractive long-term value creation for our shareholders. Results and activities in the third quarter demonstrate our success and consistently expanding our aggregate profitability and successfully expanding our REIT through strategic acquisition opportunities.

謝謝你，馬克，我也謝謝大家今天早上加入我們的電話會議。我們繼續執行雙管齊下的策略，為股東創造有吸引力的長期價值。第三季的業績和活動證明了我們的成功，不斷擴大我們的總獲利能力，並透過策略性收購機會成功擴大了我們的房地產投資信託基金。

Despite the disruption of four hurricanes impact our industry-leading Southeast footprint, both gross margin and adjusted EBITDA margin expanded in the quarter. And year-over-year aggregates cash gross profit per tonne increased double digits for the eighth consecutive quarter, a testament to the benefits of our unwavering focus on our Vulcan Way of Selling and Vulcan Way of Operating disciplines.

儘管四次颶風的破壞影響了我們領先業界的東南部業務，但本季毛利率和調整後 EBITDA 利潤率均有所擴大。每噸現金毛利同比連續第八個季度增長兩位數，證明了我們堅定不移地關注 Vulcan 銷售方式和 Vulcan 營運方式紀律的好處。

In the quarter, we generated $581 million of adjusted EBITDA, a modest decline versus the prior year, given 10% lower aggregate shipments and the prior-year earnings contribution from the now divested Texas concrete business. Shipments in the quarter varied widely month to month and across geographies, reflecting the interruption caused by extreme weather hits. So let me walk you through how the quarter played out.

本季度，我們實現了5.81 億美元的調整後EBITDA，與上年相比略有下降，因為總出貨量下降了10%，而且現已剝離的德克薩斯州混凝土業務對上年盈利的貢獻也很大。該季度的出貨量每月和不同地區差異很大，反映出極端天氣造成的中斷。讓我向您介紹一下本季的情況。

In July, 7 of our top 10 markets experienced significant year-over-year increases in rainfall. And the first of four hurricanes, Hurricane Beryl, made landfall in our footprint. Average daily shipments were down mid-teens for the month. Shipments in August rebounded after a slow start due to Hurricane Debbie tracking up the East Coast. Daily shipments in August, excluding the two shipping days most impacted by the hurricane, were only down 4%, consistent with our non-weather-impacted demand view.

7 月份，十大市場中有 7 個市場的降雨量較去年同期大幅增加。四場颶風中的第一場，颶風貝裡爾，在我們的足跡中登陸。本月平均每日出貨量下降了十幾歲。由於黛比颶風襲擊東海岸，八月的發貨量在緩慢開始後出現反彈。8 月的每日出貨量（不包括受颶風影響最嚴重的兩個出貨日）僅下降了 4%，這與我們不受天氣影響的需求觀點一致。

As we are all aware, Hurricane Helene, the second of two September hurricanes, devastated many communities across Florida, Western North Carolina, East Tennessee, and other parts of the Southeast. I am thankful to report that all of our employees are safe, and I'm proud of their immediate efforts to help our communities and neighbors.

眾所周知，颶風海倫是九月兩場颶風中的第二場，摧毀了佛羅裡達州、北卡羅來納州西部、田納西州東部和東南部其他地區的許多社區。我很高興地報告，我們所有員工都很安全，我為他們立即努力幫助我們的社區和鄰居感到自豪。

The catastrophic destruction in Western North Carolina and Eastern Sea is both tragic and historic. Vulcan Materials is well positioned in the affected areas to support the immense rebuilding efforts that will be required. Due to the storm, shipments were down approximately 25% in the final week of September, resulting in quarterly shipment 10% below the prior year.

北卡羅來納州西部和東海發生的災難性破壞既是悲劇性的，也是歷史性的。沃肯材料公司在受影響地區處於有利地位，可以支持所需的巨大重建工作。由於風暴，9 月最後一周的出貨量下降了約 25%，導致季度出貨量比去年同期減少了 10%。

In spite of the challenges from volume, the pricing environment remains positive. Freight-adjusted average selling prices improved 10% year over year, with increases widespread across geographies. We continue to use our Vulcan Way of Selling disciplines and processes to deliver value to our customers and earn their daily business. We also remain focused on our Vulcan Way of Operating disciplines to drive efficiencies and lower unit cost.

儘管面臨數量的挑戰，但定價環境仍然樂觀。經運費調整後的平均售價較去年同期上漲 10%，且上漲幅度普遍存在於各地區。我們繼續使用 Vulcan 銷售方式原則和流程為客戶提供價值並贏得他們的日常業務。我們也繼續專注於 Vulcan 營運方式準則，以提高效率並降低單位成本。

Although weather and lower volumes were an even more significant headwind in the third quarter than the prior quarter, the rate of cost increases moderated. At the end of September, we announced the acquisition of Wake Stone Corporation, a leading pure-play agri supplier in the Carolinas. This acquisition is consistent with our aggregates-led growth strategy and will be a great addition to the Vulcan family. We look forward to welcoming the Wake Stone team upon closing later this year.

儘管天氣和銷售下降是第三季比上一季更為嚴重的不利因素，但成本上漲速度卻放緩。9 月底，我們宣布收購卡羅萊納州領先的純農業供應商 Wake Stone Corporation。此次收購符合我們以聚合為主導的成長策略，並將成為 Vulcan 家族的重要補充。我們期待在今年稍後關閉時歡迎 Wake Stone 團隊。

Now shifting to demand, the overall demand environment is improving, but with different dynamics impacting each end use. Higher single-family starts over the last 3 and 12 months provide a solid backdrop for growing single-family demand, particularly with potentially lower mortgage rates on the horizon to help address the ongoing affordability issue. Multifamily stars remain weak but should also benefit from a lower interest rate environment.

現在轉向需求，整體需求環境正在改善，但影響每種最終用途的動態不同。過去 3 個月和 12 個月的單戶開工率上升為單戶需求的增長提供了堅實的背景，特別是在抵押貸款利率可能降低以幫助解決持續的負擔能力問題的情況下。多戶型明星仍然疲軟，但也應該受益於較低的利率環境。

Fundamentally, there is a consistent need for additional housing in Vulcan markets, which bodes well for future residential construction activity. In private non-residential construction, demand remains vary across categories. Most categories will benefit from improving interest rates since projects in the planning and design pipeline have been accumulating for some time now.

從根本上說，Vulcan 市場對額外住房的需求始終存在，這對未來的住宅建設活動來說是個好兆頭。在私人非住宅建築中，不同類別的需求仍有差異。大多數類別都將受益於利率的提高，因為規劃和設計管道中的項目已經累積了一段時間。

Warehouse equity remains a headwind, but comps are easing, and starts seem to be stabilizing near pre-COVID levels. Data centers are still robust, and manufacturing remains a catalyst in some of our markets. Over time, light commercial activity should follow the positive trends in single-family housing. We are closely monitoring the macro dynamics and likely timing of private non-residential activity making the turn.

倉庫資產仍然是一個阻力，但競爭正在放緩，開工率似乎穩定在新冠疫情前的水平附近。資料中心仍然強勁，製造業仍然是我們一些市場的催化劑。隨著時間的推移，輕型商業活動應該會追隨單戶住宅的正面趨勢。我們正在密切關注宏觀動態以及私人非住宅活動轉變的可能時機。

On the public side, we continue to expect steady growth for multiple years. Our booking activity points to the conversion of growth in contract awards now flowing into aggregate shipments. I am confident we are well positioned to finish the year strong and deliver approximately $2 billion of adjusted EBITDA in 2024.

在公共方面，我們繼續預計未來多年將實現穩定成長。我們的預訂活動表明合約授予的增長現已轉化為總發貨量。我相信，我們有能力以強勁的勢頭結束這一年，並在 2024 年實現約 20 億美元的調整後 EBITDA。

Now I'll turn the call over to Mary Andrews to discuss a few more details about the quarter and 2024 before share some preliminary views of 2025. Mary Andrews?

現在，我將把電話轉給 Mary Andrews，討論有關本季和 2024 年的更多細節，然後分享對 2025 年的一些初步看法。瑪麗安德魯斯？

Thanks, Tom, and good morning. Tom covered for you some of our important achievements in the aggregates business during the third quarter. I want to highlight a few other items that underpin our confidence and durability of our business and the solid execution of our team. Our downstream businesses continue to strategically complement our aggregates franchise in select markets.

謝謝，湯姆，早安。湯姆為您介紹了我們第三季在骨材業務方面取得的一些重要成就。我想強調一些其他事項，這些事項支撐著我們對業務的信心和持久性以及我們團隊的紮實執行力。我們的下游業務繼續策略性地補充我們在特定市場的骨材專營權。

The asphalt business maintained healthy margins at nearly 16% in the third quarter, and cash unit profitability improved 11%. Our concrete business on the East Coast also delivered unit profitability improvement, while the lower volumes related to weak private demand in North Carolina compressed margins in our West Coast concrete business. Our SAG expenses in the quarter were $129 million or 6.4% of revenue, 10% lower than the prior year and 20 basis points favorable as a percent of revenues.

第三季瀝青業務維持了近 16% 的健康利潤率，現金單位獲利能力提高了 11%。我們在東海岸的混凝土業務也實現了單位盈利能力的提高，而北卡羅來納州私人需求疲軟導致銷量下降，壓縮了我們西海岸混凝土業務的利潤率。本季我們的 SAG 支出為 1.29 億美元，佔營收的 6.4%，比上年減少 10%，佔營收的百分比提高了 20 個基點。

We remain dedicated to both disciplined cost control and making strategic investments in talent and technology to support our business and drive innovation. Through the first nine months, we have generated nearly $1 billion of operating cash flow through our constant focus on maximizing our cash gross profit on every tonne of aggregates we sell.

我們仍然致力於嚴格的成本控制以及對人才和技術的策略性投資，以支持我們的業務並推動創新。在前 9 個月中，透過不斷致力於最大化我們銷售的每噸骨材的現金毛利，我們已經產生了近 10 億美元的營運現金流。

After reinvesting over $400 million to sustain and improve our existing operations and grow our business through greenfield development, we have yielded a 36% increase and free cash flow to deploy for expanding our reach through M&A and returning cash to shareholders. Year to date, we have allocated $206 million to strategic bolt-on acquisitions, and returned $252 million to shareholders through dividends and common stock repurchases.

在再投資超過4 億美元來維持和改善我們現有的營運並透過綠地開發發展我們的業務後，我們的業績成長了36%，並有自由現金流可用於透過併購擴大我們的業務範圍並向股東返還現金。今年迄今為止，我們已撥款 2.06 億美元用於策略性補強收購，並透過股利和普通股回購向股東返還 2.52 億美元。

For the full year, we now expect to spend between $625 million and $650 million of capital expenditures. Our balance sheet position provides us the strength and flexibility to grow. At September 30, net debt to trailing 12-month adjusted EBITDA leverage was 1.5 times, giving us ample investment capacity within our target leverage range of 2 times to 2.5 times to fund the Wake Stone acquisition and other growth opportunities that will drive long-term value creation for shareholders. We continue to focus on our return on invested capital, which was 16.1%, a 70 basis points improvement over the last 12 months with higher adjusted EBITDA generated on lower average invested capital.

我們現在預計全年資本支出將在 6.25 億至 6.5 億美元之間。我們的資產負債表狀況為我們提供了發展的實力和靈活性。截至9 月30 日，淨債務與過去12 個月調整後EBITDA 槓桿之比為1.5 倍，這使我們在2 倍至2.5 倍的目標槓桿範圍內擁有充足的投資能力，為Wake Stone 收購和其他將推動長期成長的機會提供資金為股東創造價值。我們繼續關注投資資本回報率，該回報率為 16.1%，比過去 12 個月提高了 70 個基點，平均投資資本較低，調整後 EBITDA 較高。

I'll now turn the call back over to Tom to provide some preliminary thoughts on 2025 and a few closing remarks.

現在，我將把電話轉回給 Tom，提供一些關於 2025 年的初步想法和一些結束語。

Thank you, Mary Andrews. As I look to 2025 and contemplate the demand backdrop, I expect aggregate shipments to grow next year. Overall construction activity remained robust, and the environment is improving for the private construction activity. I am confident that Vulcan Materials will continue to execute at a high level and compound our industry-leading cash gross profit per tonne at double-digit levels.

謝謝你，瑪麗安德魯斯。當我展望 2025 年並考慮需求背景時，我預計明年的總出貨量將會成長。整體建築活動依然強勁，私人建築活動的環境正在改善。我相信 Vulcan Materials 將繼續保持高水準執行，並將我們業界領先的每噸現金毛利複合到兩位數的水準。

I expect aggregate price to continue to outpace historical norms and improve by high single digit in 2025. I also expect year-over-year cost trends to improve through a combination of execution on our Vulcan Way of Operating disciplines to drive improved efficiencies in our operations and moderating inflation. Vulcan Materials has the right products, aggregates, in the right markets. But more importantly, I am confident we have the right focus and the right people to execute our strategy and deliver earnings growth in 2025.

我預計總價格將繼續超過歷史正常水平，並在 2025 年實現高個位數改善。我還預計，透過結合執行我們的 Vulcan 營運方式準則，提高我們的營運效率並緩解通貨膨脹，逐年成本趨勢將會得到改善。Vulcan Materials 在合適的市場擁有合適的產品、骨材。但更重要的是，我相信我們有正確的重點和合適的人員來執行我們的策略並在 2025 年實現獲利成長。

And now Mary Andrews and I will be happy to take your questions.

現在瑪麗安德魯斯和我很樂意回答你們的問題。

(Operator Instructions) Garik Shmois, Loop Capital.

（操作員指令）Garik Shmois，Loop Capital。

Hi, thanks for having me on today. Good morning. I was hoping you can go over a little more detail on the high single-digit pricing outlook for next year. How much carryover is there for big years from this year? Any help on the pacing for pricing next year? And any mix impacts we should be thinking about either from a product mix or geographic mix standpoint?

你好，謝謝你今天接受我的訪問。早安.我希望您能詳細介紹一下明年高個位數的定價前景。今年的大年份有多少結轉？對明年的定價節奏有什麼幫助嗎？我們應該從產品組合或地理組合的角度考慮任何組合影響？

Yes. First of all, I don't think we have any mix put in there. But let me go back in time a little bit. If you look at our mid-year price increases, they were largely as expected, kind of by market and by customer, very much similar to last year. And so that's a really healthy start for 2025. And I think that if you take midy-ear price increases and couple that with what we see in our backlogs, it allows us to carry very good pricing momentum and visibility into next year.

是的。首先，我不認為我們有任何混合。但讓我稍微回顧一下過去。如果你看看我們年中的價格上漲，你會發現它們基本上符合市場和客戶的預期，與去年非常相似。因此，這對 2025 年來說是一個非常健康的開始。我認為，如果你考慮中期價格上漲，並將其與我們在積壓訂單中看到的情況結合起來，它將使我們能夠在明年保持非常好的定價動能和可見性。

As we said in the press release, I think our preliminary view is high-single-digit increases for 2025. I think I'm confident in that. If you combine that with cost increases which continue to moderate, I think it makes me feel really good about the continued double-digit unit margin growth throughout 2025. As you heard us say in the prepared remarks, we've had eight quarters of double-digit cash gross profit per tonne growth. And remember, seven of those eight quarters, we were dealing with declining volumes.

正如我們在新聞稿中所說，我認為我們的初步觀點是 2025 年實現高個位數成長。我想我對此很有信心。如果將其與持續放緩的成本增長結合起來，我認為這讓我對 2025 年單位利潤率持續兩位數的增長感到非常滿意。正如您在準備好的發言中聽到的那樣，我們已經連續八個季度實現了每噸現金毛利兩位數的成長。請記住，這八個季度中有七個季度，我們正在應對銷量下降的問題。

So I think we're confident we continue that streak into 2025. I guess my -- I want to thank my teams. That's tough to do given the challenges that we've seen with weather and volume throughout this year, particularly in the third quarter. But I think they continue that success into next year. And what that tells me is that the Vulcan team is in control of their destiny. They are controlling what they can control.

因此，我認為我們有信心將這一勢頭延續到 2025 年。我想我的——我想感謝我的團隊。考慮到我們今年全年（尤其是第三季）在天氣和運輸量方面面臨的挑戰，要做到這一點很困難。但我認為他們會在明年繼續取得成功。這告訴我，火神團隊掌控著他們的命運。他們正在控制他們能控制的事情。

Yes. And remember, Garik, too, the reason we are so focused on that unit profitability improved Tom was talking about is that maximizing cash gross profit on every tonne is the key to our free cash flow generation. To me, it's notable that on lower ag volumes and lower revenues year to date, EBITDA margin has expanded, and free cash flows increased 36%. So as Tom said, our teams have executed very well in a really challenging environment. And frankly, I think I've provided a perfect example of just how durable this business is.

是的。加里克也請記住，我們如此關注湯姆所說的單位獲利能力改善的原因是，最大化每噸現金毛利是我們產生自由現金流的關鍵。對我來說，值得注意的是，由於今年迄今的農業產量和收入下降，EBITDA 利潤率有所擴大，自由現金流增加了 36%。正如湯姆所說，我們的團隊在充滿挑戰的環境中表現得非常好。坦白說，我認為我已經提供了一個完美的例子來說明這項業務的持久性。

Yes, makes sense. Thanks for that.

是的，有道理。謝謝你。

Trey Grooms, Stephens.

特雷格魯姆斯、史蒂芬斯。

Good morning, Trey.

早上好，特雷。

Good morning, Tom. Good morning, Mary Andrews. Hope everybody's doing well. So I know it's not always perfect science here, easy to do. But as you look at the quarter, could you try to parse out kind of what the weather impacts may have been versus demand, and maybe how each played a role in the down 10% volume that we saw here in 3Q?

早上好，湯姆。早上好，瑪麗安德魯斯。希望每個人都一切順利。所以我知道這並不總是完美的科學，而且很容易做到。但是，當您審視本季時，您能否嘗試分析一下天氣對需求的影響，以及每種因素如何在我們在第三季度看到的銷量下降 10% 的過程中發揮作用？

Yes. We try to parse that a little bit by month in the quarter. But obviously, weather has been a big story this year, and the third quarter underscored that story. If you look at the year, we've had 17 out of our 20 largest markets with more rain than prior year. I would call underlying demand kind of still down mid-single digit ex-weather. Looking forward to the fourth quarter, we saw Hurricane Milton give us a tough start. But since then, we've seen -- we've seen good weather, and we've seen our daily shipping rates bounce back, which is encouraging. But to get us back down to earth is still Q4.

是的。我們嘗試在本季逐月分析這一點。但顯然，天氣是今年的一個大問題，第三季強調了這一點。如果你看看今年，我們 20 個最大的市場中有 17 個的降雨量比去年更多。我認為，除天氣影響外，基本需求仍處於個位數左右。展望第四節，我們看到颶風米爾頓為我們帶來了一個艱難的開局。但從那時起，我們看到了——我們看到了好天氣，我們看到我們的每日運費反彈，這是令人鼓舞的。但讓我們回到現實仍然是第四季。

So how we finished the fourth quarter, I think, will just depend on the number of good weather shipping days. So far, so good at this point, but we got to see. I think, again, in spite of extreme weather and volumes, our folks continue to expand your margin by double digits. So we can't control the weather, but we control how we service our customers and price and cost. But again, I would call underlying demand mid single digit and the rest of weather, and we'll just see how the weather allows us to finish the fourth quarter.

因此，我認為我們第四季的表現將取決於好天氣運輸天數。到目前為止，一切都很好，但我們還得拭目以待。我再次認為，儘管存在極端天氣和產量，我們的員工仍繼續以兩位數的速度擴大您的利潤。因此，我們無法控制天氣，但我們可以控制為客戶提供服務的方式以及價格和成本。但我再說一次，我認為基本需求為中個位數，其餘的天氣狀況，我們將看看天氣如何讓我們完成第四季。

Got it. Thanks for that. And I'm sticking to one question, but I did want to congratulate you on the nice improvement there in gross profit per unit, cash growth profit per unit, especially despite the volume headwinds that you had, so thanks.

知道了。謝謝你。我堅持一個問題，但我確實想祝賀你們單位毛利、單位現金成長利潤的良好改善，特別是儘管你們遇到了銷售逆風，所以謝謝。

I appreciate that. I give all the credit to the people that sell and crush rock.

我很欣賞這一點。我把所有的功勞都歸功於那些銷售和粉碎岩石的人。

There you go. Okay. I'll pass it on. Thanks, everybody.

就這樣吧。好的。我會把它傳遞下去。謝謝大家。

Thanks, Trey.

謝謝，特雷。

Keith Hughes, Truist.

基斯‧休斯，真理主義者。

Thank you. Questions on volume in '25, I know you said they're going to be up, but we have some pretty easy comps on this weather you've discussed. But how much could it be up? And to getting the pricing that you just discussed with '25 -- or you think you'll have to walk away from some shipments in order to get pricing [on that]?

謝謝。關於 25 年銷售的問題，我知道你說過它們會增加，但我們對你討論過的這種天氣有一些非常簡單的比較。但能漲多少呢？並獲得您剛剛與 '25 討論過的定價 - 或者您認為您必須放棄一些發貨才能獲得定價[關於那個]？

I don't think that there's any -- if we look at the kind of the volume growth at low single digit, I don't think you're looking at any share moving around. If I look at volume to 2025, first of all, you're going to have some push from '24 to '25, obviously. That volume doesn't go away. It just pushes back. So that will be a little bit of a kill wind for us.

我不認為有任何——如果我們看看低個位數的銷量成長，我認為你不會看到任何份額的變化。如果我看一下到 2025 年的銷量，首先，顯然，從 24 年到 25 年將會有一些推動。這個音量不會消失。它只是向後推。所以這對我們來說會有點殺氣。

And we'll continue to, I think, experience demand challenges from light non-res and warehouse construction. Hopefully, that drop is slowing. I do think we'll see overall growth in res, additional construction, some challenges on multi, but I think single is and will balance. And then we'll see growth on the public side. So a little bit early to call 2025, flurry thoughts would be kind of low single digits with no impact from price.

我認為，我們將繼續經歷來自輕型非資源和倉庫建設的需求挑戰。希望這種下降速度正在放緩。我確實認為我們會看到資源的整體成長、額外的建設、多方面的一些挑戰，但我認為單方面正在並且將會平衡。然後我們將看到公共方面的成長。因此，現在預測 2025 年還為時過早，匆忙的想法將是低個位數，且不受價格影響。

And that's assuming normal weather?

那是假設天氣正常嗎？

I don't know what normal is anyway.

反正我也不知道什麼叫正常。

Whatever normal is. All right. Thank you.

不管怎樣都是正常的。好的。謝謝。

Anthony Pettinari, Citigroup.

安東尼佩蒂納裡，花旗集團。

Good morning. Tom, I was wondering if you could talk a little bit more about Wake Stone, just kind of how long you've been looking at that business, and maybe the profile of the assets, in terms of kind of the per unit profitability, how it sort of stands up against a larger company? And just any other details you can share?

早安.湯姆，我想知道您是否可以多談談威克斯通，您關注該業務多久了，也許還有資產概況，就單位盈利能力而言，如何它能與大公司抗衡嗎？還可以分享其他細節嗎？

Yes. We've known the Brattons for years, and they run a good company. we're looking at closing that business later this year, so not much of an impact, I would say, for this year. They operate in the Triangle region of Eastern North Carolina, the Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, and that's one of the ten fastest-growing regions in the country, so a great market.

是的。我們認識布拉頓家族很多年了，他們經營著一家很好的公司。我們打算在今年稍後關閉該業務，所以我想說，今年不會產生太大影響。他們在北卡羅來納州東部的三角地區、羅利、達勒姆、教堂山開展業務，這是全國成長最快的十個地區之一，因此是一個巨大的市場。

I had the pleasure of meeting with the entire Wake Stone team a few weeks ago. They're a talented bunch, and we look forward to them joining the Vulcan family. We are confident that this will have substantial value creation for our shareholders. And I think we -- like our strategy, we always say this is expanding our reach into some very attractive aggregate markets.

幾週前，我很高興與整個 Wake Stone 團隊會面。他們是一群才華橫溢的人，我們期待他們加入 Vulcan 大家庭。我們相信這將為我們的股東創造巨大的價值。我認為，就像我們的策略一樣，我們總是說這正在將我們的業務範圍擴大到一些非常有吸引力的整體市場。

Okay. That's helpful. Is there a rough estimate of tonnage, or should we wait for that?

好的。這很有幫助。是否有噸位的粗略估計，或者我們應該等待？

Historically, they've been in the 8 million- to 9 million-tonne range.

從歷史上看，它們的產量一直在 800 萬噸到 900 萬噸之間。

Got it. That's helpful. I'll turn it over.

知道了。這很有幫助。我會把它翻過來。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Kathryn Thompson, Thompson Research Group.

凱瑟琳·湯普森，湯普森研究小組。

Hi. Thank you for taking my question today. You touched on earlier in the Q&A about the volumes down 10%, yet you were able to get double-digit cash gross profit per tonne in the quarter, and you helped us bridge how does this is achieved. Following in on that, compare and contrast what happened this quarter and in terms of what your outlook is in '25? And are there any particular aspects including cost that could be different in '25 versus current quarter? And then maybe also talk about what will be unchanged? And what are the things that allow to put up double-digit cash gross profit per tonne even in the face of double-digit volume declines? Thank you.

你好。感謝您今天回答我的問題。您早些時候在問答中提到銷量下降了 10%，但本季每噸現金毛利潤卻達到了兩位數，並且您幫助我們解決瞭如何實現這一目標的問題。接下來，比較和對比本季發生的情況以及您對 25 年的展望？25 年季度與當前季度相比，是否有任何特定方面（包括成本）可能有所不同？然後也許還可以談談什麼是不會改變的？即使面對兩位數的銷售量下降，哪些因素可以讓每噸現金毛利達到兩位數？謝謝。

Yes. I think this goes -- that is the disciplines of the Vulcan Way of Selling and Vulcan Way of Operating. And that's kind of simply put. You saw us continued pricing disciplines throughout this year. And I thought the team did a good job with that. I think that they did a good job with midyears, which helps us carry good momentum into 2025 from a pricing perspective.

是的。我認為這就是瓦肯銷售方式和瓦肯運作方式的準則。簡而言之。您看到我們今年全年持續實施定價紀律。我認為團隊在這方面做得很好。我認為他們在年中做得很好，這有助於我們從定價角度將良好勢頭帶入 2025 年。

And then the conversations that we've had for the January 1 pricing, they're not complete, but they're pretty far down the road. And so that gives us some confidence of that high single digit from a pricing perspective. On the cost side, we've been sitting here facing double-digit cost -- unit cost for a number of quarters now, which, quite candidly, is extremely high and a lot of that is inflation driven.

然後我們就 1 月 1 日的定價進行的對話尚未完成，但已經離我們很遠了。因此，從定價的角度來看，這讓我們對這個高個位數有了一些信心。在成本方面，我們已經坐在這裡面臨兩位數的成本——現在幾個季度的單位成本，坦白說，這是非常高的，其中很大一部分是由通貨膨脹驅動的。

Some of that this year is impacted by weather and by volume. But I think that our operating teams continue to execute on the disciplines from an operating perspective, and that is plant availability, throughput, tonnes per hour, tonnes per man hour, and all the metrics that go into what drives cost.

今年其中一些受到天氣和數量的影響。但我認為我們的營運團隊繼續從營運角度執行紀律，即工廠可用性、吞吐量、每小時噸數、每工時噸數以及影響成本的所有指標。

So while we continue, I think, good pricing momentum, going into 2025, I think we are starting to see our cost increases moderate. And that's a combination, I think, of inflation moderating, but also our operating efficiency is improving. As far as those operating efficiencies, I think we got a long way to go, we were, I guess, put back a little bit this year because of inclement weather, which gives you wet, sticky material, it's hard to operate. So I would expect over the next few quarters that to -- the operating efficiency continue to improve.

因此，我認為，儘管我們在 2025 年繼續保持良好的定價勢頭，但我認為我們開始看到成本增長溫和。我認為，這是通膨放緩和我們的營運效率正在提高的結合。就這些營運效率而言，我認為我們還有很長的路要走，我想，由於惡劣的天氣，我們今年的效率有所下降，這會給你帶來潮濕、粘性的材料，很難操作。因此，我預計在接下來的幾個季度中，營運效率將繼續提高。

Great. Thanks so much, and best of luck.

偉大的。非常感謝，祝你好運。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Jerry Revich, Goldman Sachs.

傑瑞·雷維奇，高盛。

Good morning, Jerry.

早安，傑瑞。

Yes, hi. Good morning, Tom, Mary Andrews, Mark. Congratulations on the strong unit profitability, given the volumes this quarter mind as well. I want to ask the pricing sequentially. I thought it was quite constructive, given the disruption in terms of relative to an attractive part of your footprint here.

是的，嗨。早安，湯姆、瑪麗安德魯斯、馬克。考慮到本季的銷量，恭喜強勁的單位獲利能力。我想按順序詢問價格。我認為這是相當有建設性的，考慮到相對於您在這裡足跡中有吸引力的部分而言的破壞。

Can you just talk about how the weaker volumes this year are impacting the pricing cadence, if at all? I'm assuming new spot market business would have come online were it not for the demand decline? And how does that impact the planned pricing cadence in terms of the price increases that you've announced to customers for January 1 for '25 compared to the cadence of pricing actions that you took in the beginning of '24, just to calibrate us?

您能否談談今年銷售疲軟如何影響定價節奏（如果有的話）？我假設如果不是需求下降的話，新的現貨市場業務將會上線嗎？與您在 24 年初採取的定價行動節奏相比，這對您在 25 年 1 月 1 日向客戶宣布的價格上漲（只是為了校準我們）的計劃定價節奏有何影響？

Look, demand -- I mean, volumes going down never helps price. But I think that the visibility will come in demand, both on the public side, particularly on the public side. But now also, we think some growth on the private side and residential are helpful for price. I think as far as we talked about mid-year price increases, that's a good step for '25. It helped a little bit in '24. I think if you look at the cadence in '24, we were probably up a little bit higher from Q1 into Q2 than last year, probably not quite as high from Q2 into Q3, but that's just timing.

看，需求——我的意思是，銷量下降對價格毫無幫助。但我認為，無論是在公眾方面，特別是在公眾方面，可見度都會受到需求。但現在，我們認為私人領域和住宅領域的一些成長也有助於價格上漲。我認為就我們談到的年中價格上漲而言，這對 25 年來說是一個很好的一步。它在 24 年有一點幫助。我認為，如果你看看 24 年的節奏，我們從第一季到第二季的增幅可能比去年高一點，從第二季到第三季的增幅可能沒有那麼高，但這只是時機。

And so I think that -- you put all that together, where demand has been a drag, I think as us and our customers look to 2025, I think the future looks much better from a public side and from a residential side and probably not as bad from a non-residential side. You pull that together. I think we're encouraged by opportunities for price and unit margin as we look out '25.

因此，我認為，將所有這些放在一起，需求一直是一個拖累，我認為當我們和我們的客戶展望2025 年時，我認為從公共方面和住宅方面來看，未來看起來要好得多，但可能不會從非住宅方面來看同樣糟糕。你把它們放在一起。我認為，當我們展望 25 年時，我們對價格和單位利潤的機會感到鼓舞。

And sorry, Tom, can you comment on the timing part of that question, January 1 versus April 1? How does that look in terms of your plans [for '25]?

抱歉，湯姆，您能否評論一下該問題的時間部分，即 1 月 1 日與 4 月 1 日？從你的計劃來看這怎麼樣[25 年]？

Yes. The vast majority of our prices will be January 1. I'm trying to think if there's any there will be April. I'm sure there's a minority out there, but none that I can think of off the top of my head. So that's been changed now for two or three years, and I don't -- I expect to continue January 1.

是的。我們的絕大多數價格都是 1 月 1 日的價格。我在想如果有的話，那就是四月。我確信其中有少數人，但沒有一個是我能立即想到的。所以現在這種情況已經改變了兩三年了，我沒有——我預計 1 月 1 日會繼續改變。

And just -- Jerry, talking about the sequential price, you're right. We thought that third quarter sequentially played out in line with what we expected given the execution on the mid-year increases. So good momentum moving into the fourth quarter, which obviously we don't usually see sequential growth at too much mix really to call that, but tremendous momentum moving into 2025 and those January 1 increases.

只是 - 傑瑞，談論連續價格，你是對的。鑑於年中成長的執行，我們認為第三季的表現符合我們的預期。進入第四季度的勢頭非常好，顯然我們通常不會看到連續增長的速度太快，但進入 2025 年以及 1 月 1 日以來的增長勢頭強勁。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Brent Thielman, D.A. Davidson.

布倫特·蒂爾曼，D.A.戴維森。

Good morning.

早安.

Hey, good morning. Thanks. Tom, I know a lot of attention on the private sector for 2025 and what may come. But on infrastructure, I mean, I know some of the leading indicators out there showed some flattening at relatively high level. I guess my question is, do you think your business can still see an acceleration in those volumes next year? I know you've got the weather stuff this year, but also just thinking about a lot of projects that are just still getting going that have been released over the last couple of years. Just wanted to get your sense around that.

嘿，早安。謝謝。湯姆，我知道很多人都關注 2025 年私營部門以及可能發生的事情。但在基礎設施方面，我的意思是，我知道一些領先指標在相對較高的水平上表現出一些趨平。我想我的問題是，您認為您的業務明年的銷售仍能加速嗎？我知道今年你已經了解了天氣問題，但也只是想到了過去幾年發布的許多仍在進行中的項目。只是想了解您對此的感覺。

Yes, I think we feel good about the public side. I think we're seeing the IIJA and state and local funds flow into highways now. Overall, we see public demand growth. This year is similar to our expectations, steady growth as we look forward. And then if you look over and beyond IIJA, you've got substantial state funding.

是的，我認為我們對公共方面感覺良好。我認為我們現在看到 IIJA 以及州和地方資金流入高速公路。總體而言，我們看到公共需求成長。今年與我們的預期類似，我們期待穩定成長。然後，如果你審視 IIJA 的範圍，你會發現你已經獲得了大量的國家資金。

Texas and California are two of our largest states, and they're at record letting levels. And then you got Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, South Carolina, that all approved with large additional funding -- state funding. You put all that together, it will impact some lettings in 2025, which will help us. But it will go past that.

德州和加州是我們最大的兩個州，它們的出租水平達到了創紀錄的水平。然後是喬治亞州、田納西州、佛羅裡達州、南卡羅來納州，這些州都獲得了大量額外資金——國家資金的批准。把所有這些放在一起，它將影響 2025 年的一些出租，這將對我們有所幫助。但它會過去的。

So you got six of our largest states at record funding levels, and that should support public demand this year, next year, and obviously the next three or four years. And then you've got the other infrastructure over beyond highways that supported by IIJA that is a little better than we would have expected at this point. So we feel pretty good about the public side.

因此，我們最大的六個州的資金水平達到了創紀錄的水平，這應該會支持今年、明年以及顯然未來三到四年的公眾需求。然後，除了 IIJA 支援的高速公路之外，還有其他基礎設施，比我們目前的預期要好一些。所以我們對公共方面感覺很好。

Very good. Thank you.

非常好。謝謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Philip Ng, Jefferies.

菲利普‧吳，杰弗里斯。

Good morning, guys. I guess, from a cost per tonne standpoint, how should we think about the fourth quarter? Does that start to normalize? And when we look out to 2025, your gross profit per tonne has been pretty stellar despite weaker volumes. Does that accelerate a little bit more if we get a little more volume growth when we think about next year in terms of cost per tonne coming down as well?

早安，夥計們。我想，從每噸成本的角度來看，我們該如何看待第四季？這會開始正常化嗎？當我們展望 2025 年時，儘管產量有所下降，但每噸毛利卻相當出色。當我們考慮明年每噸成本也會下降時，如果我們獲得更多的銷售成長，那麼這種速度是否會加快一點？

I would expect simply cost -- the cost increases to start moderating. But I think if you -- despite the volumes and the weather challenges that we had in the quarter, we continue to moderate that cost looking backwards and that wet sticky material hurts that efficiency. So volume growth in a more normal weather pattern, coupled with the continued of the Vulcan Way of Operating, I think, will help our cost issues as we move forward and support that double-digit margin growth. So simply put, I would expect our cost pressures to start easing over the next few quarters.

我預計只是成本——成本增加開始放緩。但我認為，儘管我們在本季度遇到了產量和天氣挑戰，但我們繼續降低成本，回顧過去，濕黏材料會損害效率。因此，我認為，在更正常的天氣模式下，銷售量的成長，加上 Vulcan 營運方式的持續，將有助於解決我們的成本問題，並支持兩位數的利潤成長。簡而言之，我預計我們的成本壓力將在未來幾季開始緩解。

Can we get it back normal, like in that low to mid-single-digit range in the fourth quarter, or it's going to take a little longer? And is that a good basis for 2025?

我們能否讓它恢復正常，就像第四季度的低至中個位數範圍一樣，或者需要更長的時間？這是 2025 年的良好基礎嗎？

That's a great target. But that's the target. I'm not paying in victory on that one yet, but yes, that's our goal is to get it back down to normal.

這是一個偉大的目標。但這就是目標。我還沒有為此付出勝利的代價，但是，是的，我們的目標是讓它恢復正常。

Okay. All right, super. Thank you.

好的。好吧，超級。謝謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Timna Tanners, Wolfe Research.

蒂姆納坦納斯，沃爾夫研究。

Hey, good morning. Hello. I wanted to ask, if I could, about capital allocation, just shifting gears. So you paused the buyback, wondering why, given strong forecast the quarter. You talked about more M&A. Is there still some left? I know you accentuated that on the last call. And just wondering in general if you can talk about other uses, including debt paydown potentially into next year with a maturity in the second quarter. Thanks.

嘿，早安。你好。我想問一下，如果可以的話，關於資本配置，只是換個方向。因此，考慮到本季的強勁預測，您暫停了回購，想知道為什麼。您談到了更多併購。還有剩下的嗎？我知道你在上次通話中強調了這一點。只是想知道您是否可以談論其他用途，包括可能到明年償還債務並在第二季到期。謝謝。

So I'll let Mary Andrews go first with capital, and then I'll talk about acquisitions.

所以我會讓瑪麗安德魯斯先談資本，然後我再談收購。

Yes. Timna, I think through the first nine months, our capital allocation decisions have been consistent with what we always communicate, which is the biggest gating item for us is always growth opportunities. We've obviously announced the Wake Stone opportunity, and the pipeline remains active. So I think there's other opportunities ahead of us. We obviously have the balance sheet well positioned to fund those growth opportunities and also, as you mentioned, are taking into account the notes that are coming due in April of next year.

是的。Timna，我認為在前九個月裡，我們的資本配置決策與我們一直溝通的內容一致，這對我們來說最大的門控專案始終是成長機會。我們顯然已經宣布了 Wake Stone 的機會，並且管道仍然活躍。所以我認為我們還有其他機會。顯然，我們的資產負債表足以為這些成長機會提供資金，正如您所提到的，我們正在考慮明年 4 月到期的票據。

On M&A, we saw us close a couple of small bolt-ons in Alabama and Texas earlier in the year where, obviously, we're excited about Wake Stone, and looking forward to closing that one. That aside, I think the M&A pipeline remains active. We're working on some other opportunities that we hope to get to the finish line and talk about in the next few quarters.

在併購方面，今年早些時候，我們在阿拉巴馬州和德克薩斯州完成了幾項小型補充項目，顯然，我們對威克斯通感到興奮，並期待完成該項目。除此之外，我認為併購通路仍然活躍。我們正在尋找其他一些機會，希望能夠在接下來的幾個季度內完成並討論這些機會。

All right. Thank you.

好的。謝謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Michael Dudas, Vertical Research.

邁克爾·杜達斯，垂直研究。

Good morning, Mary Andrews, Mark, and Tom. Tom, back to looking maybe at the private sector, can you maybe share how your manufacturing, industrial energy customers -- how their plans, their back -- how your backlog looks relative to that market? And have you sensed any -- maybe generally, maybe definitely on the private side, across the board, any hesitancy because of the election and once that gets through? And with maybe rates certainly -- hopefully normalizing, though the market is not cooperating in the last couple of weeks, of that giving you a little more better tailwinds to some of the volume numbers that you're sharing with us today?

早安，瑪麗安德魯斯、馬克和湯姆。湯姆，回到私營部門，您能否分享一下您的製造業、工業能源客戶——他們的計劃、他們的支持——您的積壓訂單相對於該市場的情況如何？您是否感覺到——也許是普遍的，也許是私人方面的，全面的，由於選舉以及一旦選舉通過而出現的任何猶豫？當然，也許利率可能會正常化，儘管市場在過去幾週沒有合作，但這會為您今天與我們分享的一些成交量數字帶來更好的推動力嗎？

Yes. I think, obviously, the warehouses and distribution centers and the like that have been challenges. That being said, I think the drop on that is easing. And as you said, it's offset with heavy manufacturing and data centers. That's been a good tailwind for us. That continues to be a good tailwind for us going into 2025. But I think it's insightful about what you said about what's in the pipeline.

是的。我認為，顯然，倉庫和配送中心等都是挑戰。話雖這麼說，我認為下降趨勢正在緩解。正如您所說，它被重型製造和數據中心所抵消。這對我們來說是一個很好的順風。這對我們進入 2025 年仍然是一個很好的推動力。但我認為您所說的有關正在醞釀的內容很有洞察力。

I think there's a lot of projects on hold. If you talk to a number of our customers and the large general contractors, they're bidding a lot of work, but nobody is pushing the button. I think that with election being over, interest rates easing, hopefully in the second half of next year, we'll some see some of these come off the sideline. But there is a lot of pent-up out there that's kind of a wait and see. So we hope that a number of factors helps ease that, and we see some of that come off. Second half of -- that will impact second half of '25, but probably a bigger impact on '26.

我認為有很多項目被擱置。如果您與我們的一些客戶和大型總承包商交談，您會發現他們正在投標大量工作，但沒有人按下按鈕。我認為，隨著選舉的結束，利率的放鬆，希望在明年下半年，我們會看到其中一些措施不再被擱置。但還有很多被壓抑的事情需要等待和觀望。因此，我們希望許多因素有助於緩解這一問題，並且我們看到其中一些已經實現。下半年——這將影響 25 下半年，但可能對 26 影響更大。

Thank you very much.

非常感謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Tyler Brown, Raymond James.

泰勒布朗，雷蒙德詹姆斯。

Good morning. Hey, Tom. I want to kind of come back to some prior comments. But where are you all on the plant technology journey that you talked about at the Analyst Day? And what do you think that those efficiencies mean increasing cost, call it, disinflation perspective over the next couple of years? I mean, does it shave a point or two off of those unit costs, just any way to frame it? I'm just trying to understand just how idiosyncratic it is to Vulcan.

早安.嘿，湯姆。我想回到之前的一些評論。但是，你們在分析師日談到的工廠技術之旅進展到哪一步了呢？您認為這些效率意味著未來幾年的成本增加（即通貨緊縮）嗎？我的意思是，它是否可以使這些單位成本減少一兩點，是否可以透過任何方式來建造它？我只是想了解它對瓦肯來說有多特殊。

It's insightful. You're insightful. What your question is is insightful because it's a big deal for us. We're still pretty early stages. I think we probably have that fully implemented in 25%, 30% of our operations. The capital cost is spent on the remaining operations. Remember, it's about the top 110, 120 plants, which is about 70%, 75% of our production. What we're seeing out of that is double-digit throughput improvements on the plants where it's fully implemented. Long ways to go on that one. I think we make that journey throughout 2025.

很有洞察力。你很有洞察力。你的問題很有洞察力，因為這對我們來說很重要。我們仍處於早期階段。我認為我們可能在 25%、30% 的業務中全面實施了這一點。資本成本用於剩餘營運。請記住，這是關於前 110、120 家工廠，約占我們產量的 70%、75%。我們看到，全面實施該技術的工廠的吞吐量實現了兩位數的提高。在那件事上還有很長的路要走。我認為我們將在 2025 年完成這趟旅程。

The weather probably didn't help us with some of that stuff and some of the distractions we have with storms, but I think that Pruitt and team are making good progress there, and I think they'll get that done sometime early 2026. And it's hard -- really hard to call. And we spent some time trying to do it. What is the dollar impact for us. And I think we quit doing that and we'll concentrate on what's the throughput impact because we know it's degrees of goods. So we'll hopefully finish that journey by first or second quarter of '26. But you are correct, it will have an impact on our cost.

天氣可能沒有幫助我們解決其中的一些問題以及暴風雨帶來的一些幹擾，但我認為 Pruitt 和團隊在這方面取得了良好的進展，我認為他們將在 2026 年初的某個時候完成這項工作。這很難——真的很難打電話。我們花了一些時間嘗試做到這一點。美元對我們有什麼影響？我認為我們不再這樣做，我們將專注於吞吐量的影響，因為我們知道這是商品的程度。因此，我們希望在 26 年第一季或第二季之前完成這趟旅程。但你是對的，這會對我們的成本產生影響。

Excellent. That's extremely helpful. Thanks.

出色的。這非常有幫助。謝謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Adam Thalhimer, Thompson Davis.

亞當·塔爾希默、湯普森·戴維斯。

Hey, good morning, guys.

嘿，早上好，夥計們。

Good morning.

早安.

Good morning.

早安.

I'm still a little fuzzy. What do you want us to plug in for volumes in Q4? And then Tom, how much demand variability are you seeing by state?

我還是有點模糊。您希望我們在第四季為卷數添加什麼內容？湯姆，您認為各州的需求變化有多大？

So on Q4, if you give me the weather report for November, December, I'll give you the volume for Q4. It's just -- it's a hard one to call because it's so dicey. Like I said, October started off slow but bounced really good. And it's been dry in October, and we shipped appropriately well. But November, December, we all know what can happen in those. So kind of a hard one to call. I would call you to underlying demand for the year is at that probably mid -- down mid-single digits. We've seen some balance of that in October. But again, it's how many shipping days that we have.

所以在第四季度，如果你給我 11 月、12 月的天氣預報，我會給你第四季的音量。只是——這很難判斷，因為它太冒險了。正如我所說，十月起步緩慢，但反彈非常好。十月天氣乾燥，我們出貨得當。但是十一月、十二月，我們都知道這些期間會發生什麼事。很難打電話。我想告訴你，今年的基本需求可能處於中位數的中間水準。我們在十月看到了一些平衡。但同樣，這是我們有多少運輸天數。

Yes. And [Adam], I think, overall, our volume guidance from the second quarter was minus 4% to minus 7%, and that's still what we expect for the full year on a demand environment, like Tom described, is down mid-single digits and the rest of that weather impacted. So where we fall within that will depend on how fourth quarter plays out.

是的。[Adam]，我認為，總體而言，我們第二季的銷量指引為負4% 至負7%，這仍然是我們對全年的預期，因為需求環境就像湯姆所描述的那樣，在單季度下降數字和天氣的其餘部分都受到影響。因此，我們所處的位置將取決於第四季的表現。

I'm sorry, what was your second question?

抱歉，您的第二個問題是什麼？

Demand variability by state.

各州的需求變化。

That was hard to call because of who gets washed out -- who got washed out what month this year. But I think all of them are okay. I don't see -- Illinois has been a challenge with the public side, more of a challenge than most of our states. I think Virginia has had its share of challenges. Northern California has been challenged. And the rest of them, I think, kind of in that low- to mid-single-digit rate down of what we've seen. And the Southeast is probably healthiest.

這很難說，因為誰被淘汰了——誰在今年的哪個月份被淘汰了。但我認為他們都還好。我不這麼認為——伊利諾伊州一直是公共方面的挑戰，比我們大多數州的挑戰更大。我認為維吉尼亞州也面臨一些挑戰。北加州受到了挑戰。我認為其餘的人的利率比我們所看到的要低到中個位數。東南部可能是最健康的。

In Texas, when if you look at Texas, when it quit rain, we should actually shipped quite well, but they got blown out in the first half of the year, but the second half has been better. But I think most of them are consistently kind of down in that mid-single digit except for the challenged ones I would call out would be Northern California, Illinois, maybe kind of Virginia area.

在德克薩斯州，如果你看看德克薩斯州，當雨停的時候，我們實際上應該發貨得很好，但是他們在上半年被吹垮了，但下半年情況更好了。但我認為，除了我認為面臨挑戰的地區是北加州、伊利諾州，或許還有維吉尼亞州地區，大多數地區的房價一直處於中個位數的下降。

Got it. Thank you.

知道了。謝謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Michael Dahl, RBC Capital Markets.

麥可·達爾，加拿大皇家銀行資本市場部。

Good morning, Mike.

早上好，麥克。

Good morning. Thanks for taking my question. Follow up on Wake Stone, so I appreciate the volume comment. Can you help us understand just how pricing looks both in terms of kind of where you stand -- where that business stands relative to your core portfolio, and also just their pricing strategy has looked over the past couple of years relative to the strategy you employ and what you can do with that? And then if I could sneak one more on Wake and just any sense of kind of the cash outlay to close the acquisition?

早安.感謝您提出我的問題。跟進威克斯通，所以我很欣賞卷宗評論。您能否幫助我們了解定價的情況​​，既包括您的立場（該業務相對於您的核心投資組合的立場），也包括過去幾年相對於您採用的策略的定價策略你能用它做什麼？然後我是否可以在 Wake 上再偷偷透露一點，以及完成收購所需的現金支出？

So you probably not going to love my answer, but that's -- as you know, that's a new market for us. We've not been in that in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill market before. So kind of new ground from a commercial perspective. So -- and we've got to get it closed. So a little bit early for me to make any calls how we operate -- how they operate today or what we would do differently, if anything, in those markets.

所以你可能不會喜歡我的回答，但如你所知，這對我們來說是一個新市場。我們以前沒有去過羅利-達勒姆-教堂山市場。從商業角度來看，這是一種新的領域。所以——我們必須把它關閉。因此，對我來說，現在就我們如何運作——他們今天如何運作，或者我們在這些市場上會採取什麼不同的做法（如果有的話）》做出任何決定還為時過早。

So that was -- let me get it closed. Let me get a little digested, understand the markets, and we could be -- give a much better answer on that. As a practice, we don't typically disclose purchase price of acquisitions that aren't material to the company. So again, give us a little time on these things, and let's get it closed, and we can be a lot clear on Wake Stone.

所以那就是——讓我把它關閉。讓我稍微消化一下，了解市場，然後我們就可以——對此給出更好的答案。作為慣例，我們通常不會揭露對公司不重要的收購的購買價格。再說一遍，給我們一點時間來討論這些事情，然後讓我們結束它，這樣我們就可以清楚地了解威克石的情況。

We are like I said, very excited about this. We're excited about the team, the Wake team, who we think is very talented. We're excited about the assets, and we think the markets are a good addition to that Southeastern footprint and in markets where we can be a leader in the market. So excited about it, and we'll have to get back with you a little more information when we can after we close it.

正如我所說，我們對此感到非常興奮。我們對 Wake 團隊感到非常興奮，我們認為他們非常有才華。我們對這些資產感到興奮，我們認為這些市場是東南部足跡的良好補充，也是我們可以成為市場領導者的市場。對此感到非常興奮，在關閉它後，我們將盡快向您回覆更多資訊。

Got it. Okay, thanks.

知道了。好的，謝謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Angel Castillo, Morgan Stanley.

安吉爾‧卡斯蒂略，摩根士丹利。

Hey, good morning. Thanks for taking my question. Just maybe I wanted to expand on that conversation a little bit more. As you think about more high-level kind of competitive pricing dynamics across your markets, just what are you seeing from maybe kind of the private side of competition in terms of being disciplined on price? And what does that kind of tell you the price disparity of potential acquisition opportunities versus your corporate level?

嘿，早安。感謝您提出我的問題。也許我想進一步擴展一下這次談話。當您考慮整個市場中更高水平的競爭性定價動態時，您從競爭的私人方面看到的價格紀律是什麼？這能告訴您潛在收購機會與您的公司層級之間的價格差異嗎？

It's hard for me to really comment on competitive pricing. Obviously, we get information about markets. But I think that as people look at the aggregates business, they understand the value of the rock in the ground and that's a depleting asset and you shouldn't give it away because you can't replace those tonnes.

我很難對有競爭力的定價做出真正的評論。顯然，我們獲得了有關市場的資訊。但我認為，當人們關注骨料業務時，他們了解地下岩石的價值，這是一種消耗性資產，你不應該放棄它，因為你無法取代這些噸。

And people understand that they got to make a return on investment, whether that's the private side or the public side. So I think that the pricing in the aggregates business has always been good and will continue to be good. And I think the onset of growing public demand and particularly growing profit demand only helps that situation.

人們明白他們必須獲得投資回報，無論是私人方面還是公共方面。因此，我認為骨料業務的定價一直都很好，並且將繼續良好。我認為不斷增長的公共需求，特別是不斷增長的利潤需求只會有助於這種情況。

Very helpful. Thank you.

非常有幫助。謝謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Michael Feniger, Bank of America.

麥可費尼格，美國銀行。

Good morning. Thank you for squeezing me in, guys. Tom, if you could just talk about, I mean, a few years ago, you guys had a target of 11 to 12 cash gross profit per tonne on a much higher number of tonnes you're kind of doing today. So just -- how should we be kind thing about that as we're starting to close in on that figure? How are you guys kind of thinking about that? And now that we're moving into next year, it looks like we're going to be starting to see some volume increase or at least to end these volume declines.

早安.謝謝你們把我擠進去，夥計們。湯姆，請你們談談，我的意思是，幾年前，你們的目標是每噸 11 到 12 噸現金毛利，而你們今天的噸數要高得多。那麼，當我們開始接近這個數字時，我們應該如何善意地對待這個問題呢？你們對此有何看法？現在我們即將進入明年，看起來我們將開始看到銷量增加，或至少結束銷量下降。

Well, the short answer to that, we got to give you new goals. We reached a lot faster than what we thought we would have. My hats off to my division presidents and all those division employees who accelerated that target a lot lower volumes than I would have expected, particularly in the face of, as I said, seven or eight quarters of falling demand. They just have done a good job, and they've executed on the Vulcan Way of Selling and Vulcan Way of Operating. But the short answer is we owe ourselves and you the goals because we're basing down that $11 right now, and we plan on getting some of those new goals in the not-too-distant future.

好吧，簡短的回答是，我們必須給你新的目標。我們到達的速度比我們想像的要快得多。我向我的部門總裁和所有部門員工致敬，他們加速實現了比我預期的產量低得多的目標，特別是在面對，正如我所說的，七八個季度的需求下降的情況下。他們做得很好，並且按照瓦肯銷售方式和瓦肯運營方式執行。但簡單的回答是，我們欠自己和你們的目標，因為我們現在以 11 美元為基礎，我們計劃在不久的將來實現其中一些新目標。

Great. And if I could just maybe squeeze one more in. I'd love to get a sense, Mary Andrews, just on -- for next year, maybe just moving pieces for free cash flow. Obviously, CapEx, you guys has done some acquisitions. Just kind of how to think about that as we're moving into 2025, some of the buckets there in terms of working capital or CapEx in next year. Thank you.

偉大的。如果我能再擠進去一點就好了。我很想了解一下，瑪麗·安德魯斯，明年，也許只是為了自由現金流而移動部分。顯然，資本支出，你們已經做了一些收購。當我們進入 2025 年時，我們該如何思考這個問題，明年的營運資本或資本支出的一些問題。謝謝。

Yes. Mike, obviously, in February, we'll give full 2025 guidance and include a lot of the things that you just mentioned. But specific to CapEx, we believe we've been reinvesting at appropriate levels for the current business needs. If you look over the last five years, that's ranged 8% to 9% of revenues. As Tom said, we don't even have the acquisitions closed yet. So I don't have a specific view on what CapEx will look like for the acquired operations next year. But as you model, I think that our historical level is a reasonable place to be.

是的。麥克，顯然，在 2 月份，我們將提供完整的 2025 年指導，其中包括您剛才提到的許多內容。但具體到資本支出，我們相信我們一直在根據當前業務需求進行適當的再投資。如果你看看過去五年，你會發現這佔收入的 8% 到 9%。正如湯姆所說，我們甚至還沒有完成收購。因此，我對明年收購業務的資本支出沒有具體看法。但當你建模時，我認為我們的歷史水平是一個合理的位置。

It appears we have no further questions at this time. I will now turn the program back over to our presenters for any additional remarks.

目前看來我們沒有其他問題了。我現在將把節目交還給我們的主持人，以徵求補充意見。

Thank you for your time. Thank you for your interest in Vulcan Materials. We look forward to talking to you throughout the quarter. We hope that you and your families are safe and healthy during the holiday season and look forward to talking to you soon. Thank you.

感謝您抽出時間。感謝您對沃肯材料的興趣。我們期待在整個季度與您交談。我們希望您和您的家人在假期期間安全健康，並期待盡快與您交談。謝謝。

This does conclude today's program. Thank you for your participation. You may disconnect at any time.

今天的節目到此結束。感謝您的參與。您可以隨時斷開連線。